Skills and Techniques - Ways of Developing Skill

When learning skills you need to ensure practice is safe. This means you should make sure that practice is at the right level for your ability, and complete a warm up before practice and a warm down after practice. You also need to understand and abide by the safety rules for specific activities.

Trampoline Example

In trampoline, safe practice relates to both your role as a performer and as a supporter. As a performer you need to get on and off the trampoline carefully and, when bouncing, attempt to remain over the middle of the trampoline.
You need to try to bounce in a controlled way with as little sideways, forwards and backwards movement as possible.
You also need to follow more general safety issues. These include ensuring that the trampoline and working area are safely set out. It also involves ensuring that nobody in the class moves underneath the trampoline when another classmate is bouncing on it.
In addition, you need to follow precise teacher instructions and advice about when more demanding movements like somersaults can be attempted. For somersaults, a feature of safe practice often involves students (or teachers and students) working co-operatively. During co-operative practice it is important that you try to understand both performer and supporter roles so that practice is safe.

Practice Methods

Three main practice methods are: gradual build-up, whole part whole and passive/active practices.

Gradual Build-Up - Gradual build-up is the learning of a skill in stages with each stage becoming increasingly difficult. It is a useful practice method for learning complex (difficult) skills. It is useful for practising at a level which is appropriate to your ability. You can then progress to the next practice when ready. This allows you to develop confidence in your ability.

Whole Part Whole

Whole part whole is often used as a practice method by performers who already have some experience of the activity. This is because this practice method works best when you can perform the whole skill already. After analysing your strengths and weaknesses you can work on improving the problem part then practice the whole skill again. Once this is completed the whole skill or technique can be performed again.

Stages of Learning

The are three important stages in learning and developing skills: these are often referred to as the planning stage, the practice stage and the automatic stage. For credit grade you need to understand in detail the automatic stage of skill learning. Information on the other stages is provided in order to indicate how progression to the automatic stage of skill learning occurs.

The Planning Stage - During the planning stage, you find out what the skill invovles. You establish what the parts of the skill are and make your first attempt t learning each part. Errors are likely to be common at this stage, so you need advice, encouragement and support to make progress.
At this stage of skill learning if 10 practice serves were attempted this is where…